The Knowledge Hub on Health and Migration was officially formed in November 2016 by the WHO Regional Office for Europe with the support of the Ministry of Health of Italy and Regional Health Council of Sicily. In addition, the European Commission supports the Knowledge Hub through the Migration Health Knowledge Management (MiHKMa) project, which focuses on technical guidance materials, the knowledge library and webinars.
WHO is the authority responsible for public health within the United Nations system. The WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) is one of WHO’s six regional offices around the world. It serves the WHO European Region, which comprises 53 countries, covering a vast geographical region from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans. WHO/Europe staff are public health, scientific and technical experts, based in the main office in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 3 technical centres and in country offices in 29 Member States.
The Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency (CHAFEA) was created on 1 January 2005 (known as PHEA between 2005 and 2008 and EAHC between 2008 and 2014). Currently, CHAFEA implements the European Union's Health Programme, the Consumer Programme, the Better Training for Safer Food Initiative (BTSF) and the Promotion of Agriculture Products Programme. CHAFEA provides a professional service in performing the tasks and activities entrusted to it by the European Commission and works closely with the Directorate-Generals forHealth and Food Safety, Justice and Consumers, and Agriculture and Rural Development.
The Ministry of Health was established in 1958 with the remit to fully implement the mandate of the Constitution, which, in article 32 paragraph 1, states that Italy protects health as the fundamental right of the individual and as a collective interest, and guarantees free medical treatment to all indigents. The Ministry of Health includes the Department of Public Health and Innovation, the Department for Organization of the National Health Service and the Department of Veterinary Public Health, Food Safety and Collegial Bodies for Health Protection.
The Health Council of the Sicily Region governs health issues in the Region of Sicily. The Sicily Region has promoted a project of action–research–intervention aimed at sharing with other Italian and European regions good practices and the formation of contingency plans for mass migration. The Sicily Region and the WHO Regional Office for Europe have designed an operational solution to improve the organizational aspect of the public health response to a large influx of migrants through the homogenization of management procedures.